If you decide to change all the rubber fuel lines while in the process of finding your problem. Make sure you go ahead and buy the Gates Barricade rubber fuel line. Its the only common over the counter fuel line you can buy inexpensively. It is ethanol resistant. Costs about a five spot for 2 feet. Save yourself possibly more issues down the road.
My first corvette used to do that....go about a couple of miles....then die...let it sit for a short time...it would crank right up and go about the same distance... It was a crimped gas line....it would let fuel run down into the line while not driving it and when the engine used it up....would die....then after a while it would re plenish the fuel again until it used it up....then quit runnning again... Good luck with it....
Quick update, sock and new gasket installed on fuel sending until. Blew out the line from the gas tank to the pump (all clear). Funny how you always strip the most difficult screw to get to. Can't ever be the Easiest one to get to.
Changing mechanical fuel pump. The rod that pushes on the pump is all the way down, if I bump the engine will it give me more room or will I break it? Thanks all
Dude, it stays down 'till you lift it back up. You have to finesse the fuel pump arm up under the rod. It will test your hand eye skills. Take your time.
wHEN THE ENGINE IS TRURNED OVER [BY HAND] TILL THE FUEL PUMP ROD IS IN ITS uppermost POSITION,.... ya have a two bolt stand that the engine is mounted with on the fuel pump side of engine=tighten a longer bolt into the upper hole of the two holes that the engine mounting stand bolts to frt of block with...that holds the rod up for ya...... then dont forget to replace it with the shorter one for driving
Thanks guys, I fashioned a little tool to finess it in . Next step is to make a new pump to carb line, old one won't fit with the new inline filter. Red gas was coming out of the old pump, probably the same rust I found in the carb.
...Ok weeks and weeks but my pipe bender and flare-ers have arrived. I bent and flared some fresh lines from my pump to my filter to my carb and hooked them all up. I have an empty fuel line from sender to carb. I tried to start it but no luck at all the engine turns and turns but no fire. I noticed that the old lines look like they are double flared. Do I need to double flare new lines or do I need to just prime it? Thanks again!
They should be double flared to seal well. Do you have any fuel coming out of the pump? Crack the line at the carburetor. If the line from the tank to the fuel pump sucks air, it won't pull fuel. You can push fuel through the line with air by wrapping a rag around a blow nozzle to plug the filler and slowly build a little pressure in the tank. The tank is higher than the pump so it will siphon once the line is full. You could pour some gas into the carburetor vent hole to fill the float bowl.
I have had this problem with a 49 Mercury and a 50 Mercury. Problem every time was a dirty gas tank , with the alcohol in the new gas , it eats the black deposits off of the inside of the tanks each time you fuel. I had a filter before the pump and changed it each time I had the problem . After 5 filters I decided to boil the tank out and it solved the problem. Hope this helps.
Double flair all the time every time ! Leaks in pressure will drip, make sense right. Leaks in suction will suck air, makes sense right. Let some air get into your soda straw and see how well that works.
Thanks Guys! Glad I got a 25' coil it's coming in handy 49 my tank relatively clean minus some very minor rust flakes. If this fails I'm thinking about re-doing the tank. Thanks again!
I always liked getting the tank out of the cab after seeing my bro's tank collapse when his truck was hit from behind (when parked). The bed got pushed into the back of the cab. I had done one on a '65 C30, made up mounts to adapt in a newer '65 or so Impala tank between the frame rails towards the cab end of the bed. Ran the filler out the handy auxillary tank hole in the side of the bed with some creative gas-hose plumbing. Spliced the sender wire into the existing C30 gauge... don't recall any major issues, although this was 17 zillion brain cells ago. Bob
take out the gas tank, hose it out with water, take a length of tow chain and put it inside the tank, you and a buddy grab the tank at each end and shake it all around, turning it upside down a few times....the chain will knock loose all the bits of rust and debris that clog up your fuel lines and carb filters.....this method worked very well for me on my 1950 chevy pickup.....cheap and effective.....don't forget to remove the sending unit before doing this.
Thanks guys, was thinking about moving the tank to under the bed but I am saving that for when I do a full restore. I did my best impression of a pro double flaring some new lines. Tried starting again no fire. I hooked up an airline to the filler and the sweet smell of 93 filled the air... seems like the little 5 inch piece of rubber hose that attaches the cab line to the pump line was the main culprit. It pissed about a gallon all over the floor until i was finally able to come to my senses and unhook the line to sender and push the fuel back down with some air. Dreading ring around the rosy at the parts store near me so I guess its gonna be snail mail again! Lesson learned... double flare and always have an oil catch handy
...And weeks later the pesky little rubber hose arrives! Was going to cut one out of steel line but I wasn't sure if the rubber was was put there on purpose to give the line some play. I tightened all the connections and tested with air first and no leaks. Then I used the air to fill line trick to get the whole line primed. Had a vacuum in the new filter, once I released it the old girl fired back to life right away WOO HOO and smoother running at that! Another question: I left the filter in the carb and added a new fish bowl filter to the mix. Will having both filters cause an issue? Thank you again!
I really wanted to add this one too. While I was removing the fuel sender of course its the hardest to reach screw that gets stripped! I needed to notch it with a hacksaw blade to get a screwdriver in it. Boy was I afraid of going boom!!! I have since replaced with new clutch screws.
That trash in the carb inlet photo appears to be a major part of the problem...That bronze filter element the factory installed does a bitchin' job of stopping trash, (and the engine...) Exactly what it's supposed to do. We usually had good luck cleaning them with spray cans of carb cleaner, and an air nozzle. Blow out the line from tank to pump as well as pump to carb. 4TTRUK
Glad you got it running good. Too bad you had to lose so much prime driving time. I don't know if the fuel conditioners will help but Sta-bil makes a treatment for ethanol fuel.
I had all of the same problems with my Plymouth, I had to break down and get the tank cleaned and sealed! But it sounds like your on the right path. I'm still running 2 filters out of paranoya...but I just got all new 3/8 fuel line and I'm going to put a nice thread on fuel filter right before the carb...Good luck let us know how she does!
Here's a little tip for the sending unit bolts. 1960, and (I think 1959) Chevy passenger car gas sending units use the same bolts as 1955 - 1957 Chevy passenger cars and 1955 - 1959 Chevy trucks. The nice thing is that the newer bolts have hex heads, instead of clutch heads. Seems like they take a 1/4 inch socket.
Thanks guys! Just an update I took her out today for a few hours and she ran nice and smooth and quieted down a lot more. The only thing I hear now is the muffler the fishbowl is really doing its job. The gas inside is orange already. I may just breakdown and clean up the tank and seal it. HUGE difference though, she actually chips when I pop the clutch now. Tork, I almost got a set of those but I found a guy who sells new clutch screws. These feel a little stronger than the old ones. I'm a glutton for punishment if I strip these ill get the new ones. Thanks again
I think your problem is a fuel problem and not an electrical problem. I agree Johnny Gee, your carb needs to be rebuilt. With summer heat if you're still having problems you may have a vapor lock issue.
Bringing this thread back from the dead. I installed a new 160 deg therm today and wrapped fuel lines with heat resistant fuel line wrap (I found on line) all the way up to the carb. Ran a nice long while and it started dying again. I really plan on getting the carb rebuilt and adding a spacer block under it. After all of this I am thinking maybe the radiator is too small adding to the problem. My truck started life as a 6 but she was upgraded to an 8. I wonder if the radiator is too small to handle the 283. My truck gets VERY HOT to the touch when I run it for a while. The radiator is 20 inches wide, is this big enough? Thanks
I had a few of the same issues with my 60 Impala when I got it. I replaced the tank ($250) and rebuilt the carb. That got her running good when cold. I still had a few issues, when it got hot -put heat shield on the fuel line that ran near the head, and now it is fine. I have the same glass fuel filter, but mine is mounted next to the carb, yours looks a little too close to the exhaust manifold.
I'm not sure if this applies to 55-59 pickups, but with 55-57 Chevy passenger cars, the 6 cylinder radiators were larger than the V8 radiators. I didn't reread the thread, but has the entire cooling system been flushed out? Has the radiator been boiled out? Radiator hoses ubhooked and the block flushed? Does the radiator have a good core? Since the engine has been changed, does it have the correct sized pulleys, (both the water pump and crankshaft pulleys)?
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